User blog:JohnnyOTGS/JohnnyTalk: World Heroes, who they really are.
Hello again everybody and welcome to another edition of JohnnyTalk. Today, I'm going to give you a bit of a history lesson, and it's about some of the references in the Tournament Fighting Game: World Heroes 2. This game was very fun on the Super NES, I couldn't keep away from this game. Though, the original Neo-Geo version was hard as basically any SNK-Playmore TFG during the time. But you probably don't know that the characters in this game are actually based on real world historical figures. Hanzou The Main character of the game and bascially the game's Ryu. Hanzou (like Ryu) seeks to improve his skills by fighting other fighters around the world. He can use his small Ninja dagger to throw Shuriken and even has a Dragon Punch-like move and can spin in the air. Real-Life Counterpart Hanzou is based on Hanzo Hattori, a real-life Japanese Ninja who is known for his impressive skills in Ninjutsu and his service to Ieyasu Tokugawa (who would eventually become the Shogun which would rule Japan for nearly 3 centuries). Hanzo, the name could also have become a title as (according to some Japanese records) there could be a series of Ninja who had assumed his name even after this death at the hands of his enemy: Fuuma Kotaro. Fuuma The game's Ken Masters as Fuuma has basically the same set of special moves as Hanzou. Unlike his rival Hanzou, Fuuma is depicted in the game as a womanizer and doesn't like to work overtime (so he's actually somebody else and only poses as a Ninja? o_O). Though, what he does crave is his defeat of Hanzou by his hands. Real-Life Counterpart Fuuma (like Hanzou) is also based on a real Japanese ninja: Fuuma Kotaro who was known for serving the Hojo Clan (the Japanese clan with the symbol that helped inspire Shigeru Miyamoto to create the Triforce) he helped the Hojo infiltrate and weaken a rival clan: the Takeda ''clan. Fuuma's rivalry with Hanzou is loosely based on a famous Ninja duel between their respective real-life counterparts (with Fuuma winning the duel) Janne a French sword fighter who uses her (well, Sword) to fight against her opponents. Although, she does like to fight, but she's also worried about her personal life as she's desperately trying to find the perfect man. Real-Life Counterpart Janne's full name in the game is ''Janne De Arc which is French for Joan of Arc, ''who was a French freedom fighter in the 15th century as France was overrun by aggressive Biritsh forces during the ''Hundered Years War. Joan disguised herself as a man and trained vigorously as a medieval knight to help Charles VII liberate the French town of Orleans from the British. Eventually, Joan's actions had lead France to victory over the British and helped Charles VII become the next King of France. Though, she was caught by a French faction that was loyal to the British and then handed over to the British who charged her with Witchcraft, Heresy as well as other charges and was exceuted by being burned to death at the stake. It was until 25 years after her execution that the British declared her trial "unjust". Interestingly, Joan of Arc didn't become a figure in France until the 20th Century. Dragon Dragon is a Martial Arts actor and singer who uses a variety of punching and kicking special moves. He also moves quite fast along the fighting grounds. Real-Life Counterpart Kim Dragon is an obvious reference to Bruce Lee who is himself a Martial Arts actor who starred in such movies as Fist of Fury, Enter the Dragon ''and ''Way of The Dragon. Though, Lee didn't make a music album as Dragon did. But he also created his own way of performing Martial Arts known as Jeet Kune Do. Though, in the first game, Dragon hails from China, but in the second game he's from Korea (though in the Super NES, this was changed to China). Though Bruce Lee was born in the USA and raised in Hong Kong. Rasputin Rasputin is the fighter from Russia and can use his powers to enlarge his hands and feet when he fights. He also has a bit of a homosexual personality as he can lure fighters into his "garden of love" and even mimics Marlyn Munroe's iconic skirt blowing scene. Real-Life Counterpart Rasputin is based on the Russian figure: Grigori Rasputin who was considered to be a miracle healer for the Russian Orthodox Church and was made an advisor to the Romanov Family of Tsars in the late 19th century. Though, Rasputin's practices had gotten him tinto trouble as there were numerous assassination attempts done on him as he was stabbed, shot, poisoned and even records of him drowning. But he survived them all. But one attempt caught up to him in 1916 when his body was found in an ice cold river near St. Petersberg. J. Carn Julius Carn is a warlord from Mongolia who fights a bit like E.Honda, he serves Dio in the second game and hopes to conquer all of Asia. Real-Life Counterpart Juliua Carn is based on the real Mongolian ruler: Ghengis Kahn who ruled Mongolia in the 13th century and went on to rule parts of China during his historical conquest. Even after Kahn's death in 1227, his empire lives on and continued to conquer China and even parts of western Asia. Brocken Brocken is a German robot who can shoot missiles from his arms and even produce electricity and wind from his hands. Like Dhalsim, he can also stretch his arms and legs to give him extra range. Real-Life Counterpart It was difficult to tell which historical figure Brocken is inspired by. Judging by his outfit, Brocken is an obvious nod to the Nazi soldiers who ruled Germany from 1934 to 1945 (as they were defeated by the Allies during World War 2). But he's not based on any notable Nazi (personally, I think he could be based on Erwin Rommel, a Nazi general who led the Nazi Afrika Korp during the North Africa campaign from 1940 to 1943). Because Brocken is a robot, he's loosely based on an anime character Rudolf von Stroheim from the popular anime JoJo's Bizarre Adventure. He can also be based on Inspector Gadget as his robotic functions break down from time to time. Muscle Power Muscle Power is the brainless and arrogant Pro Wrestler who is out to prove that he's number 1. Though, his moves are consisting of elbow smashes and flying drop kicks, though some of his throw moves are actual wrestling mvoes. Real-Life Counterpart Muscle Power is loosely based on Terry Gene Bollea ''(AKA ''Hulk Hogan) from WWE fame. In fact, Muscle Power's appearance in the first game had him wear a mustache that looked a lot like Hogan's, but this was removed to avoid palgerism lawsuits by Hogan himself. He even rips his shirt off like Hogan as well. Ryoko Ryoko Izumo is a young practioner of Judo. Still young, she vows to make her parents proud. Sh'e more of a grappler than Muscle Power as most of her special moves are gabbing and throwing her opponents. She can also create stationary fireballs. Real-Life Counterpart Ryoko is loosely based on Ryoko Tamura-Tani who rose to fame in Japan after becoming the first Japanese Woman who practices Judo to win the Gold Metal in the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, Spain. Ryoko Tamura''s rise to fame has also seen other characters based on her such as ''Ryoko Kano from Fighter's History as well as others. Johnny Maximum Johnny Maximum is a former Professional American Football player but now wants to compete against other fighters to satisfy this thirst for violence. He can throw energy Footballs as well as throwing his opponent as if he's scoring a touchdown. Real-Life Counterpart Like Brocken, It's quite difficult to pinpoint what exactly Johnny Maximum is based on. He's obviously a reference to American Football (judging by his outfit) he could be a reference to Johnny Unitas who was a quarterback for the Baltimore Colts (now the Indianapolis Colts) in the 1970's and led the team to several Super Bowls. But Johnny Maximum looks more like a defensive player (e.g., Linebacker, Defensive End). He could also be a nod to Joe Montana of the San Francisco 49'ers and he too led his team to several Super Bowls. Shura The Muay Thai boxer who is looking for his long lost brother. He has a good set of punching and kicking special moves. One of the better characters. Real-Life Counterpart Shura could be a nod to the legendary fighter Nai Khanom Tom: The Originator of the fighting art which would eventually be called Muay Thai. Nai Khanom Tom was taken from his farm villiage near Ayutthaya by soldiers from Myanmar (Burma) and was made into a slave. When the Burmese king wanted to hold a tournament to see how the Siamese Martla Art (known then as Muay Boran) would do sgains Burma's own martial art: Lethway. Nai Khanom Tom wins the tournament and was given freedom, he marries and becomes Ayutthaya's main Muay Boran master. His appearance can also be a reference to a recent Muay Thai boxer: Rob Kamon. Erick Erick is a Viking from Scandanavia who sails the oceans with his beloved clan to show that his Viking tribe is the best. His special moves involve him blowing a freezing cold breath as well as creating waves with his axe. Real-life Counterpart Erick is based on the real-life Viking Erik the Red who went on to revolutionize Viking travel and created a Viking establishment in Greenland. After being banished from Norway, he went on to live in Iceland before heading to Greenland. Captain Kidd Captain Kidd is a Pirate brawler who does what every Pirate does, sailing the ocean and searching for treasure. He fights with water based projectiles as he can throw you a Pirate Ship projectile as well as Sharks he even has some good kick moves. Real-Life Counterpart Captain kidd is based on the real pirate of the same name: William Kidd who was a part of the Royal Navy before he became a Pirate. For his Piratic actions in the Indian Ocean, he was executed by lynching (hanging) in Britain. Mudman A man from Papua New Guinea who lives with his native Guinean people to rid the world of evil. His moves involes using spirits that shoot from his lavishly huge mask he wears. Real-Life Counterpart It's quite difficult to find who exactly Mudman is based on. He's clearly a reference to the native Polynesian people who are Voodoo Witch Doctors which practice in Polynesian occult and wear huge masks. Mudman is also referenced by a Japanese Manga called The Mudmen. Category:Blog posts